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What do you do when you have 160-something broadcasts a year, all of which are pretty much the same, and yet you want to do something special that can help you get noticed at a time when attention spans may be waning a bit? Many radio stations go through this problem every week.  Client remotes, […]

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I have to confess that I’ve never understood the science (assuming that’s the correct way of looking at it) of managing rates. On the radio station side, it is an incredible juggling act.  When can you raise rates?  Is it driven by ratings, results, available inventory, or a combination of all these things?  When do […]

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Yes, the nation’s retailers are once again hoping and praying for a strong end-of-year shopping season.  And in anticipation, a new study from Motista is urging holiday-dependent businesses to not just push the emotional button (friends, family, giving, etc.) but connect with customers in a meaningful way. Thus, there is more value in the emotionally […]

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On the heels of a strong NAB/RAB Radio Show in Chicago last week comes the announcement that the 2012 site is Dallas, a familiar city for this convention.  The Anatole is a large facility and conference center, more than capable of handling the throngs of radio people who will be in attendance. And while we […]

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Another Radio Show has come and gone.  And this years was one of the better ones in recent memory. Why?  Chicago played a major role.  As we have opined in this blog in the past, The Radio Show works fine in markets like Charlotte and Austin.  But Chicago is a bigger stage, a major market, […]

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In an interesting twist, Facebook actually had something of a failure late last month when it blew up Places.  We highlighted this feature in this blog because we sensed that with hundreds of millions of members, Facebook would have a powerful advantage with this location-based tool. The idea here was for Facebook to one-up Foursquare […]

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Over the past couple of weeks, radio has been debating the impact of “Denise,” the artificial intelligence DJ.  We’ve devoted space in this blog to the conversation, and I have taken a keen interest in this technology.  Yes, its development makes a statement about the state of radio in 2011.  But beyond that, much of […]

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As readers of this blog know, we are headquartered here in Detroit, so we have a unique perspective on the role of the automobile in people’s lives.  And over the past few years, the pros and cons of the Motor City’s top product have intensified. It’s been a rollercoaster as the auto companies started to […]

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Perhaps you were watching that amazing Michigan-Notre Dame game under the lights this past Saturday night.  Aside from how great “The Big House” looked and the amazing finish, the other thing you may have noticed is the way the student section looked. You don’t have to wonder where they’re sitting because it’s common knowledge that […]

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There was a lot of collective attention these past few days to New York City.  And that got me thinking that when you’re vacationing in the city or doing business there, you often find yourself on Times Square among all the neon, billboards, and human distractions.  And where do your eyes gravitate?  To the news ticker, […]

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I ran across an interesting Media Post article recently about a partnership between Country’s Zac Brown Band and Jack Daniel’s – two brands that have a lot of synergy. As you’d expect, this commercial relationship will have lots of different tentacles – ticket giveaways, beverage signage, pre-concert “Eat & Greet” events (the band is famous […]

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The news that Groupon has had a summer worse than the Chicago Cubs has a lot of people in radio – and in marketing – buzzing.  In fact, Groupon traffic took a 50% hit this summer, suggesting the possibility of deal burnout. Or is it?  Because during this same period, Living Social traffic jumped 27%.  […]

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Time flies.  Especially as we’re sitting here on the Wednesday after Labor Day.  This past three-day weekend signified many things – the end of summer, perhaps a family vacation, the beginning of school, and the start of many different football seasons. It also is the “third half” of the year.  After the first six months and then […]

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Welcome to the rest of the year. If we’ve learned anything these past few years, it is the omnipresent need to create content and gadgets that are great – that provide value to your customers and your clients.  And that leads us into a conversation that starts with the smartphone experience. If you have an iPhone, […]

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It’s hard to believe that it’s September already and the end of summer is upon us. Here’s to a great holiday weekend – fun, family, football, and be sure to keep it safe. We’ll be back bright and early Tuesday morning to kick off the rest of the year.  Thanks to our clients and friends, […]

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Hopefully that headline tease got you to start reading this blog post – because it’s an important marketing story.  Kellogg is changing its priorities and dads are becoming a new target group. This is significant because until now, cereal ads have been geared primarily at moms and kids.  Now Kellogg is embarking on a new campaign, […]

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This crazy controversy about Denise, the artificial intelligence “DJ” being tested at KROV radio just took an interesting turn. Alan Cross took on Denise in a recent blog.  A couple of days later, we opined in this space about how seminal personalities can have great impact on local communities.  WCSX’s Steve Kostan, recently inducted in the […]

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I’m not a “breaking news” kind of guy.  With all the communication we have available to us now from cable news to Twitter to Facebook to newspapers and radio, it is amazing to me how the initial facts of a story so often are flat-out wrong. Perhaps that’s a product of the competitive pressure that […]

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